NCS

[Dancergirl]

If anyone's dc is doing NCS this summer please check in here!

I have just waved dd and her friend off on Phase 1 today. They are going to Snowdonia. They're both a bit nervous but excited. I'm sure they'll have a great time.

Not this year, but didn't want to leave you hanging on 'Unanswered Threads'

My older 2 dc have both done it and had a ball. Quite different places and set ups in a way, but enjoyed by both of them. I'm sure dc3 will enjoy it next year too.

My DS is going on 22nd July, he is really nervous because he doesn't know anyone and is a bit shy. Any advice please

minesawine when DS did it a couple of years ago the leaders made a huge effort to involve everyone and make them all feel comfortable.
In his group there was a wide range of different people - from confident to shy and also some with particular needs. (One boy had autism and a girl had significant anxiety which they made allowances for to ensure that she got as much as possible out of it.)
It was all really positive and he gained a huge amount from it.

My DD did it 3 years ago and has gone on to do ICS this year as part of her gap year. She absolutely loved the experience for many reasons and it certainly filled up her long summer break that year. Now my DS and DSD are both starting their NCS experience next Monday and are looking forward to it - going to Wales. They are really well looked after, the activities are both fun and challenging and it is a good stepping stone to 'independence'. I am sure your DD will have a great time.

Sorry for thread hijack OP, but I've been wanting to ask how it works for a while. Do you need to have some kind of local group (like for DofE) or is it something where it's organised nationally? Maybe I'm being dense but I've been looking at the website and can't figure out.

You don't need a local group, however, I've gathered from threads like this in previous years that it seems to be targeted at certain areas, and isn't available to everyone ? I don't know that, but is just the impression I've got from MN threads in the past. I do know it came from money the Government supposedly put up but in reality took from Youth service funding after the last set of rioting, so maybe it is targeted at bigger Cities ??

My DS is off on 2nd July, going with one friend. Sleeping in tents the first week. I'm sure they will have a blast.

Don't think it's targeted at cities. I'm in rural middle class area and we've had all the info

We are rural, ds1 had a blast last year. Ds2 will be doing it next year, totally different character but I suspect he will also get loads from it.
Ds1 is still in touch with some of his group.

It is available to everyone but there are limited places. I used to work next to the NCS team and got the impression that local authorities with fewer summer opportunities for teens filled up faster and possibly did not need to be advertised widely.

Dd is going on 17 July. Rather annoyingly she's going to have to travel 75 mins each way for the volunteering/community section. She signed up in January. We've also got to drive round the North Circular at rush hour to go to the information evening (or tube into central London to tube & bus out again).

sadik my dd found out about it from school. Someone from NCS came in to do an assembly about it.

minesawine have you had your information evening yet? I went with dd to hers, they had to write on a post it note one thing they're looking forward to and one thing they're worried about. Most of them wrote they were worried about making friends! They are all in the same boat.

Dd has gone with a friend from school but they are in different activity groups and different rooms which I think is good as it forces them to speak to other people. Dd is really shy but she's managing ok. Spoke to her yesterday, they did a hike up a mountain. Looking forward to canoeing today.

Dancergirl We have our information meeting on 10th July. I have had to bribe him with KFC because he says he is not going. I am going with him and think that as soon as he sees that the kids are just like him he will be ok. He just feels really shy about spending so much time with strangers. And a pretty girl or two always helps.

Is it true that Universities look really favourably on kids who have attended NCS.

I think, Sadik, that anyone can do NCS but they have to be able to get to the nearest pick up places on designated days. This wasn't a problem for my DD, but I have read on MN of kids who couldn't participate because they couldn't get to the places the coaches picked up from at the correct time.

My son is due to go soon. He is very disorganised and impractical. He is also very shy but he has been encouraged by another older friend saying how much negotiations out of it. I can imagine my son wearing wet clothes for a week and getting grief from the rest of the group for not pulling his weight.
Do they normally mix them up. I think this would be good for my son as he could do with a blank canvas away from people who may have preconceived ideas about him.

Well dd is back from Phase 1. She had a pretty good time overall. Food wasn't great, showers weren't great but nothing terrible. She enjoyed the activities especially canoeing and hiking. The setting in the mountains looked beautiful, shame about not brilliant weather though.

Dd made some friends, she said she had a nice group. And they started to plan Phase 2. They know who they are sharing a flat with and started to plan their meals.

My ds came back from phase one yesterday. His group went to Scotland, to an activity centre that NCS hadn't used before. After all the hype about the activities they would be doing he actually came back very disappointed. Talking it through with him they did seem to have done very little. However, he enjoyed being with new people and making some friends so all was not lost.

I heard from my DS first thing. They have been divided into teams according to the activity they are doing in the second week. Each team of 12 is sleeping in a yurt this week. So far they have done hiking, and today are doing canoeing, caving and 'search and rescue'. He is having a great time but his hay fever has gone through the roof, despite having medication. That's what you get for camping in the middle of nowhere

My DD is away in Wales this week. She's very outdoorsy so I'm hoping she's enjoying herself despite not having a single friend to sit with on the coach...

My ds didn't either Chair. He said the journey there was really quiet but he couldn't hear himself think on the way back so it didn't take them long to get used to each other and make friends.

DD do Phase 1, came home very tired but totally buzzing with excitement. Off again on Phase 2, couldn't wait to get going on Monday morning. All I know is they are staying in a hostel, and will have to budget and cook all their food for the week.

DD group was all school friends except for one, who I'm told has been welcomed in as the group, "forgot she's not from our school by the end of the week" said dd.